Cuba condemns US sanctions against Turkey; Panama will hire doctors to face COVID; Argentina assumes temporary presidency of Mercosur; UN expresses alarm over massacres in Colombia ›Hilo Directo› Granma

CUBA CONDEMNS US SANCTIONS AGAINST TURKEY

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez rejected, this Wednesday, the sanctions imposed by the United States against Turkey due to the purchase of missile defense systems. “Cuba firmly condemns the unilateral measures of the United States against Turkey, which demonstrate, once again, the permanent disrespect of this country for International Law and the Charter of the United Nations,” he wrote on his Twitter account. Washington sanctioned Ankara yesterday for the purchase of the S-400 missile defense systems. For his part, the Turkish Defense Minister, Hulusi Akar, defended the use of these Russian weapons to protect their sovereignty in opposition to the hostile policy of the northern government. (PL)

PANAMA WILL HIRE FOREIGN DOCTORS TO FIGHT COVID-19

The Panamanian Minister of Health, Luis Francisco Sucre, announced the hiring of doctors, from the United States, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Cuba in the face of the vertiginous increase of COVID-19 in the country. In a television appearance, he explained that the decision was adopted by the national government, after failing to obtain the necessary response from specialized personnel, after various calls made internally. This measure is taken at a time when the country is fighting the new coronavirus pandemic that has overwhelmed the health system, leading it to register the highest number of COVID-19 infections in Central America, with more than 200,000 infected. (PL)

ARGENTINA ASSUMES TEMPORARY PRESIDENCY OF MERCOSUR

The president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, assumed the pro tempore presidency of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) on Wednesday for six months, a period in which he will promote the definitive incorporation of Bolivia, and the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the birth of the regional bloc . Upon assuming the presidency, the Argentine president called for a greater economic opening of the bloc, without neglecting the most vulnerable sectors. “Mercosur has an important opportunity, promoting a more open agricultural trade. We must enter external markets. We cannot close ourselves off from the world in an anachronistic way, ”Fernández said. (Telesur)

UN EXPRESSES ITS ALARM FOR HIGH NUMBER OF MASSACRES IN COLOMBIA

After learning of a new massacre in Colombia, the 85th so far this year, the United Nations (UN) denounced the systematic extermination of indigenous peoples and human rights defenders in the Andean country, and asked President Iván Duke to take measures for his protection. According to the UN, the agency’s Human Rights Office in Colombia documented 66 massacres, in which 255 people were killed. However, the actual figures are higher. The international organization also received information on the murder of 120 human rights defenders and 244 former combatants of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, during 2020. (Sputnik)

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